The present disclosure generally relates to document processing devices. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to methods and systems for determining the capacity of a document processing device based on at least a job size distribution for the device.
Document production environments, such as print shops, convert printing orders, such as print jobs, into finished printed material. A print shop may process print jobs using document processing devices such as printers, cutters, collators and other similar equipment. Typically, document processing devices in print shops are organized such that when a print job arrives from a customer at a particular print shop, the print job can be processed by performing one or more production functions.
It is common for print shops to receive print jobs having variable job sizes. However, the dependence of a document processing device's speed on job size distribution is not currently considered when making decisions relating to print capacity in print shops. This can result in customer dissatisfaction and poor service levels.
Typically, when evaluating a speed for a printer or other document processing device, a rated speed is reduced by a factor to determine an effective speed for capacity planning purposes. However, when a job mix includes very small jobs mixed with large jobs (i.e., a heavy-tailed distribution), the effective printing speed that is actually achieved is significantly lower than this estimation. The improper estimation of job speed likely occurs because small jobs can be delayed if they are queued behind a very large job and large jobs can experience flow interruptions if several small jobs requiring multiple setups are ahead of the large job in the queue. Jobs can also be delayed while waiting for resources such as paper or toner. The hardware and software that processes jobs can also automatically enter maintenance or calibration modes in which printing cannot occur.